Sudan orders expulsion of 15 Emirati diplomats

Sudan's foreign ministry has declared 15 staff members from the United Arab Emirates embassy persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country, according to the SUNA official Sudanese news agency. 

The diplomats were told to leave the country "within 48 hours", the agency said on Sunday.

It added that the foreign ministry summoned the acting UAE charge d'affaires to relay the decision. No information was provided about the reason behind the order.

Last month, Yasser al-Atta, a top general and second-in-command to Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accused the UAE of sending supplies to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 

Atta claimed the UAE sent the supplies through airports in Uganda, Chad and the Central African Republic. 

The UAE responded by stating that it had "consistently called for de-escalation, a ceasefire and the initiation of diplomatic dialogue". 

In August, the UAE denied a Wall Street Journal report which claimed that weapons were found in its aid shipments to Sudan, and said it "does not take sides in the current conflict".

Sudan's army and the RSF have been at war since 15 April, in a conflict which has killed 12,000 people and displaced seven million, according to the United Nations.

Unicef says that in Darfur alone at least five million children are facing extreme deprivation of their rights and protection risks due to the ongoing conflict.

Burhan is thought to be favoured by Egypt, while RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has wealthy backers in the UAE.

The Emirates imports billions of dollars in gold from Sudan each year and has signed a $6bn initial pact to build and operate the Abu Amama port and economic zone in Port Sudan.